Tag: nude

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Graphite Drawing After Jacopo Pontormo

Graphite drawing of 3 nudes

This next drawing is of three nudes copied from a work by Jacopo Pontormo. Pontormo’s drawing is in the collection of the Pierpont Morgan Library & Museum in New York. The museum is located across the street from, and I kid you not, the Polish Embassy and Consulate. Would it be too off topic to talk and make jokes about the Polish? I will try with all my might to focus on the drawings and the Morgan Museum.

The Morgan Museum consists of the East and West Morgan Stanley Galleries, Morgan’s Study, The Morgan Dining Room and most importantly The Morgan Souvenir Shop. It is there that you can purchase coffee mugs, tote bags, an umbrella, a necktie that has a map of New York City on it, just in case your phone battery dies, and so many other great items. You can also buy a tray that is inscribed with the words “There is no friend as loyal as a book”. It is perfect for that special someone in your life that you have hurt so deeply that they no longer even try to interact with the outside world. The price of the tray is $42 plus $24 for shipping. Now let’s get back to the drawing.

Jacopo Pontormo’s drawing is described as “Standing Male Nude Seen from the Back, and Two Seated Nudes”. Apparently on the other side of the drawing is another bonus drawing entitled “Striding Nude with Arms Raised”. Since I forgot to turn the paper over I only copied the one drawing*. According to the description, the media he used is “Red chalk with smudging”. I have looked everywhere for smudging and I couldn’t find it. So I drew my version with pencil. Pontormo’s drawing on the back was done with black, red, and white chalk and since I don’t see the word “smudging” I’ll assume there was no smudging involved.
*please note that I drew my copy from a reproduction and did not actually handle the original artwork.

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Graphite Drawing After Michelangelo Buonarotti

Graphite drawing of a young nude man

The featured image in this post is a drawing in various graphite pencils. Actually, I think only used one pencil. I think I used the “Prismacolor® 14420 Ebony Graphite Drawing Pencil”. That’s right the old “14420”. You’re probably familiar with a number 2 pencil. Well the “14420” is not that. It is 7210 times darker than a number 2 pencil. (7210 x 2 = 14420) Please note: I not only have no vested interest in the Prismacolor® company but I also know very little about the Prismacolor® company and it’s products.

This drawing is a copy of a drawing in red chalk by Michelangelo Buonarotti entitled “Study for the Nude Youth Over the Prophet Daniel for the Sistine Chapel Ceiling”. The figure on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is located above Daniel and below “God Dividing the Water from the Earth”. According to Wikipedia: Daniel is, believe it or not, the main character in the Book of Daniel. Few people debate whether or not this is true. So the next time you are in a heated discussion over religion, you can both can agree that the main character in the Book of Daniel is in fact Daniel. As you can see this blog is not just about art but about healing the world in general.

Above the nude figure we were talking about is the scene of “God Dividing the Water from the Earth”. Apparently, according to Bible scholars, he divided the water to be either above the firmament or below. I can only assumed that he further divided the water between fresh, salt and brackish. I prefer to call brackish water either lightly salted water or even perhaps salt water with 50% less sodium. On the second day, because we can all agree that dividing water is an all day affair, he separated morning and evening. Then he added lights to the firmament of heaven. It was then that he realized that he should have put up the lights first so he could see what he was doing. Perhaps then he could have put the lights up and divide the water all in the same day.

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India Ink Drawing After Henry Fuseli

Copy of Henry Fuseli drawing of Polyphemus Hurling the Rock at Odysseus

This next post is a drawing done in India ink on 9″ x 12″ watercolor paper of Polypemus throwing a rock at Odysseus. I left out Odysseus and the rock that was being thrown. I’m not sure why. I just did. It was copied from a drawing by the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli. His was drawn in pencil with gray, blue and brown washes.

So who was the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli? Well I’ll tell you. Fuseli was born in Zürich, Switzerland in the year 1741. He was shaped in a spiral with a lot of grooves and crevices to catch extra sauce and dressings. He was sturdy enough to be tossed with a thick marinara or meat sauce. Most of the time he could be found in pasta salads. Wait a second, that is Fusilli the pasta shape. I meant to search for Fuseli. These things happen. They happen all the time. Apparently, there are over 600 different shapes of pasta from Angle Hair to Ziti. I think they can stop now. I mean I don’t want to put pasta designers out of work but there has to be more important things they can do like pressure washing the entire country of Italy.

Now, let’s learn about Henry Fuseli whose original name was Johann Heinrich Füssli. Why he would prefer a name without an umlaut to a name that had a umlaut is beyond me. Of course, being called Henry rather then Johann Heinrich would make you seem more amiable. Henry Fuseli, largely influenced by Michelangelo and classical art, was known for drawings and paintings of nude figures in intense and expressive poses. His subjects were usually taken from theater and literature. He would often illustrate scenes from works by Shakespeare. He also wrote reviews and essays on art as well as taught painting at the Royal Academy in London. He taught great artists such as John Constable and was a big influence on William Blake. He died in 1825 at the age of 84.

Click Here to see the original drawing by Henry Fuseli of “Polyphemus Hurling the Rock at Odysseus”

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Graphite Drawing After Annibale Carracci

Pencil drawing of a male torso after Annibale Carracci

Here we have another drawing in pencil copied from a work by the Italian painter Annibale Carracci. I really don’t know much about Mr. Carracci, so let’s find out about him together unless you are an expert on Italian art then I must warn you that you will be extremely disappointed by not only this post but by my entire website. The following has been taken mainly from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Timeline. More specifically called the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Heilbrunn Foundation funded the art history timeline. The Heilbrunn Foundation was founded by Robert H. Heilbrunn, an investor and philanthropist. Unfortunately, Mr. Heilbrunn died in 2001. His estate still owns the entire history of art. So next time you want to go to a art museum or write a article on art history, stop and think, do I really want to be sued by the Heilbrunn Family?

Carracci and company also were influenced by the bright colors of Titian.

Let’s get back to Annibale Carracci. I’ve decided to get my information from Wikipedia just to play it safe. Carracci was born in 1560 and died in 1609. He was an art teacher and painter who lived in Bologna and Rome. Annibale along with his brother and cousin, who were also artists, created a style of Baroque art that was both dynamic and monumental in a classical sort of way. Their draftsmanship was greatly influenced by Andrea del Sarto and Raphael. Carracci and company also were influenced by the bright colors of Titian. They took effects of natural light created by Northern Italian artists and the composition of artists like Raphael. Annibale Carracci was instrumental in creating a classical style of art that also borrowed heavily on ancient Roman and Green artists. He along with Caravaggio were two of the most influential painters in the 1600s. As a teacher, the artists he taught went on to become the most influential in Roman painting.

If you would like to see the original drawing of a male torso by Annibale Carracci then by all means click here.

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Graphite Drawing Copied from a Work by Taddeo Zuccaro

Nude male figure with upraised arms copied from Taddeo Zuccaro

Next up we have another male nude figure seen from the back. It is a drawing done in graphite pencils on 9″ x 12″ Strathmore paper. The original by Taddeo Zuccaro is about 17 in. x 11 in. and was done in red chalk and highlighted with white gouache (which is somewhat similar to watercolor).

Taddeo Zuccaro was born around the year 1540 in Sant’Angelo in Vado. He moved to Rome to study painting at the age of 14 and at 17 started studying under the master Correggio. He was an excellent draftsman and eventually became famous from his frescoes of historical themes.

This just isn’t your day.

The subject of the original, created in 1550, is a male nude drawn by life but is also somewhat based on the style of the ‘Horse Tamers’ which is a group of Roman sculptures on the Quirinal Hill. The original drawing is done in a naturalistic style but also distorted somewhat in the style of Michelangelo. Not only did Taddeo Zuccaro admire Michelangelo but Michelangelo in turn admired the young Taddeo Zuccaro for his skills as a draftsman. The nude figure study is similar to one he drew in which a soldier is holding the reins of a horse in the foreground of the composition. Both works were done as preparatory work for a fresco that decorated a Roman Palace. According to the description by the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the fresco is now lost. I don’t know how you lose a fresco or a palace. I should do some more research, although it might be more interesting to you and less work for me if I didn’t do anymore research on the frescoes and created some mystery. However, I did find out that the original drawing by Taddeo Zuccaro is in the collection of the Metropolitan but unfortunately is not on view. So you aren’t able to see it. And the other drawing that is similar to that one is in a private collection. So you can’t see that one either. I’m not sure what I did with the copy of it I drew so you can’t see that at the moment either. This just isn’t your day.

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Graphite Drawing After Leonardo da Vinci

Drawing of Male Nude After Leonardo da Vinci

So here we have a drawing done in ‘you guessed it’ graphite pencil. I’m not sure why I have to say ‘graphite’ before pencil. Pretty much all pencils are now made of graphite. There was once a time when pencils were made of lead. There was lead in paint, water pipes and gas. But since lead is toxic it was replaced. I feel sorry for the people that worked in the lead business. They were living the capitalist dream until they found out they not only were constantly exposed to a toxic substance, but they were also out of a job. I wonder if they found them both out on the same day. That would have been very unfortunate.

“I feel sorry for the people that worked in the lead business.”

Let’s get back to the above drawing. It is a copy of a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. The original is described as ‘nude man standing back to spectator.’ As you can see that pretty much sums up what it is. As I have stated earlier, it was copied from a book on old master drawings. During the pandemic, which is still going on, I set out to copy every drawing in that book. There are 100 figure drawings. I must admit whenever I post one of these pictures I feel a bit strange. When I post a drawing of a nude women I wonder if people will think I’m some kind of pervert and if I post a drawing of a nude man then they might think I’m a gay pervert. I have also been posting these drawings on my Instagram account and I’ve been attracting some men that are, how do I put it, “light in the loafer”. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s a strange feeling to receive unwanted attention. This must be how a lot of women feel.

Anyway, let’s get back to the drawing. The original was done in red chalk. It is in the Royal Library located in the Windsor Castle just outside of London.

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India Ink Drawing After Pietro Faccini

Ink drawing after Pietro Faccini

So here we have a drawing done in India ink on watercolor paper. Or if in you’re in Indian, then just ink. I believe India ink was invented in China. So many things were invented in China that we have to pretend like some of them were invented elsewhere. Like gun powder in Germany or Chinese food in America.

Moving forward, the above drawing is copy from one done by Pietro Faccini. He drew his with black chalk on gray paper. The work is in the Teyler Museum located in Haarlem, Netherlands. The Teylers museum includes not just art but it is also a museum of natural history and science. So you might have to wade through a lot of smarty pants stuff to get to the Faccini drawings. I’m sure there is another person writing about the fact that you have to walk by some artsy fartsy nonsense to get to the cool scientific stuff. The Teylers Museum was founded as a contemporary science and art center. There is a oval room in the neoclassical style behind the home of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst that is the historic center of the museum. Pieter Teyler made his money in the cloth business and was a banker as well. His ancestors were from Scotland and he was a follower of the Scottish Enlightenment. Yes, apparently there was a ‘Scottish Enlightenment’. He was also a Mennonite. I didn’t know what a Mennonite is so I had to research it. After my rather short time researching Mennonites, I still have very little idea what a Mennonite is. Apparently they are similar to the Amish but with better fashion sense.

“[Mennonite’s] are similar to the Amish but with better fashion sense.”

I really should mention something about Pietro Faccini. Faccini was influenced by Barocci, Corregio and Carracci. He worked in a very expressive style that bridged the gap between Mannerism and Baroque. He studied art at the Carracci Academy in Bologna, Italy for four years before opening up his own studio. Unfortunately, his career in painting only lasted 10 years before he died in the year of 1602.

Here is a link to the Teyler Museum, Haarlem which houses the original drawing by Pietro Faccini. I couldn’t find the actual drawing on the website but maybe you can.

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Studies of Human and Dog Legs After Leonardo da Vinci

human and dog legs after da vinci

Here we have a drawing copied from a drawing by the man who needs no introduction, Leonardo da Vinci. There has been quite a lot written about da Vinci. So much so that I don’t really need to write more. So I guess I’ll write about myself. It is not easy for me to write about myself. This I believe is due to the fact that during my childhood and adulthood I have been surrounded by people that are always talking. And most of the time they are usually talking about themselves. I know how boring it can be to hear someone talk about themselves. However, this is a blog and since it is my blog I should write something about myself.

“So I guess I’ll write about myself.”

Let’s start as far back as possible. My sister did a DNA ancestry test and she showed it to me. Basically, I am white, I mean really white. I am 99% European and 1% Euro-Asian. I had to look up what Euro-Asian meant. And it means pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a mix of European and Asian. My grandparents on by father’s side were from Holland. My grandparents on my mother’s side were from maybe Germany or some other part of Europe. They all settled in various parts of California. My parents met when my father was studying accounting at San Diego State University. After graduating, he got a job at Disneyland in Anaheim. My brother and sister were born around there. When Disney World was about to open they all moved to Orlando. I was born in 1970. My father was with Disney for about 20 years and worked his way up to Vice President of Finance. At the time I didn’t realize he was such a big wig. Anyway we did get to visit the Magic Kingdom a lot growing up. I always found it interesting the way people look at Disney. Whenever we went, we entered from the back of the park and since my father worked in finance he always talked about the business side of Disney. It really gave me an interesting perspective on Disney. More to follow…

If you would like to see the studies for the Human Legs and the Bones of the Leg in Man and Dog by Leonardo da Vinci at the Royal Library, Windsor Click this link.

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Study for the “Raft of the Medusa” After Théodore Géricault

Graphite Pencil Drawing After Gericault

The drawing above is a copy. Are you starting to catch on that there are a lot of posts of old master copies? That’s because during the covid pandemic, I started to copy all the drawings out of a book of old master drawings in hopes of improving my drawing skills as well as kill a lot of time.

Let’s get back to the drawing at hand. It is a graphite sketch after the great French Romantic painter Théodore Géricault. The original is a study for one of the figures of Géricault’s masterpiece “Raft of the Medusa” which hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The drawing itself is in the Musée des Beaux Arts in Besançon, France.

Let’s talk about the painting “Raft of the Medusa.” It was not a commissioned piece which was unusual for a 19 century work this large (16′ 1″ x 23′ 6″). The painting can be categorized as a history painting but instead of honoring a triumph it captures a tragedy. The subjects of his work are not heroic solders or mythological gods but the victims and survivors of a shipwreck. After their ship ran aground. The survivors cobbled together a raft and in their 2 weeks at sea, eventually had to resort to cannibalism in order to survive. Out of the 147 passengers only 15 survived. The captain was blamed for the shipwreck since he had not even sailed for 20 years prior and was apparently only given the position based on his connection to those in power. Anyone who has worked for a family run company understands the situation. Not of the shipwreck but of nepotism.

“Anyone who has worked for a family run company understands the situation.”

Géricault did a lot of research and made many sketches in order to create his monumental painting. He even consulted with 2 of the survivors, made a scale model of the raft and in order to better capture the look of the dead and dying, he would visit morgues and hospitals.

After a year and a half of work, the painting was shown at the 1819 Paris Salon. It received both praise and criticism. It is now considered a masterpiece of French Romantic art and has influenced many great artists.